Cliff Montgomery (September 17, 1910 – April 21, 2005) was an American football player who served as the captain of the
Columbia Lions football team that won the
1934 Rose Bowl Game. Montgomery, the quarterback, called a hidden-ball trick play known as KF-79[1] that led to Columbia's 7-0 upset over
Stanford University. It was widely regarded as one of the greatest athletic upsets of the twentieth century, and Montgomery was named the game's
Most valuable player.[2]
Montgomery served with the
United States Navy during
World War II. He earned the
Silver Star during the 1945 invasion of
Okinawa, credited with saving the lives of 400 sailors on April 6, 1945 when he navigated his
flagship alongside a burning
destroyer in rough seas.